Eleanor Roosevelt boys, Bowie girls win county titles

With the crowd on its feet and other athletes crowding the track to cheer, Eleanor Roosevelt High School's Shawn Meusa crossed the finished line to win a frenzied 4x200-meter relay.

“It's over!” Meusa yelled as he sliced his hands through the air diagonally down and out across the front of his body.

It wasn't quite over yet, but that race gave Eleanor Roosevelt the edge it needed to win the Prince George's County boys indoor track and field championship on Thursday over a wide-open field.

“They came to fight today,” Eleanor Roosevelt coach Louis Sales said. “They came to fight. So, I guess that's the most surprising thing.

“It's always tough in PG. Every year, there's somebody. If it ain't Suitland, Oxon Hill. Bowie stepped up. It will be Flowers. You can't say a team is dominant.”

At least not in boys.

The Bowie girls dominated to earn their fifth straight country track title and third straight indoor county track title. In fact, the Bowie girls won seven of 14 events — including co-girls track Most Valuable Players Charde Barnes in the 1,600 and 3,200 and Lexus Ramsey in the 55 and 300.

Oxon Hill's Danielle Wright earned the girls field MVP for winning the long jump, triple jump and high jump.

Frederick Douglass' Terrell Green won the boys track MVP with victories in the 800 and 1,600. Oxon Hill's Todd Sampson, who won the 55 hurdles and triple jump, won boys field MVP.

Andrew Carter won the long jump and Jaylen Powell won the shot put for Eleanor Roosevelt, but the 4x200 was the team's only other boys victory.

After Jawuan Brown and Julian Rowe ran the opening legs of the 4x200, freshman Trenson Terry gave Eleanor Roosevelt separation during his third leg. Meusa said the older athletes immediately recognized Terry's enthusiasm and welcomed him to the relay team, and Sales sees it, too.

“He's like a little kid who just wants going to go outside and play,” Sales said. “He just runs, and he don't really care who's older. He don't worry about names. He just do what he's got to do. He's a fighter. That's what we expect him to do, is fight. He has a big-time opportunity of being a big-time runner in high school.”

That gave Meusa the baton with a lead, just like last week, when he allowed another runner to pass him.

“He had something to prove this week,” Sales said. “We told him, 'Look, it's going to be back on your shoulders again.'”

This time, Meusa delivered.

Sales said the real MVP of his team was Oliver Meade, who scored in the 3,200 despite battling the flu and not practicing since Jan. 7.

“To me, that's more astounding,” Sales said. “He's on bed rest. But he came to run.”

Sales said he didn't care about scoring until regionals, but after Thursday's meet ended, he picked up the first-place trophy, and his athletes took turns taking photos with it.

“I guess, we'll take the thing and give to the school and say, 'Yay,'” Sales said.

The Bowie girls have even more reason to be enthused. Bowie coach Rich Andrulonis promised, if they won the meet, he'd buy everyone who scored new shoes.

Late in the meet several Bowie athletes huddled around a catalog discussing their choices — Ramsey plans to pick green Superfly Nikes — and Andrulonis is thrilled to keep his word, especially because he has a friend in the business.

“He's supposed to give me a discount,” Andrulonis said. “I've got to talk him into it.

“I'll take care of maybe some myself. They deserve it. They're so competitive, these young girls. I mean, they're winners.”